PDA Society

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We are a UK-based charity offering information, support and training about PDA (Pathological Demand Avoidance). Charity number 1165038.

The PDA Society started out as the PDA Contact Group, set up in 1997 by parents of children with a PDA profile of autism, and became a registered charity in January 2016. Our registered charity number is 1165038. We provide information, support and training about PDA for individuals, families and professionals.

23/10/2026

With just one week to save our PDA support services, we want to take this opportunity to tell you a bit more about where your donation is going, and what we are working so hard to save.

To everyone who has already made a donation in the last week, thank you for continuing to support the PDA community. We’ve been really touched by the messages we’ve received, and knowing what a difference it makes for PDA families to have somewhere to turn for help.

If you want to support the campaign, please consider donating today or sharing this post with your networks: www.pdasociety.org.uk

22/10/2026

We’ve added two new dates for Navigating PDA in the Teenage Years: an evening session, and a daytime session for anyone who can’t do evenings.

This is live training for parents and carers of teenagers with PDA (Pathological Demand Avoidance), a profile some autistic people identify with, where everyday demands can trigger an extreme anxiety response.

Over the session we’ll look at how the teenage brain develops, school and college, friendships, mental health, risky behaviours, building independence while staying connected, and preparing for employment. It’s interactive, so there’s space to reflect on real-life experiences and learn alongside other parents and carers.

This session builds on core PDA understanding rather than covering the basics from scratch, so it’s best suited to parents and carers who already feel confident with what PDA is. If you’re newer to PDA, you’re still welcome to join, you might just find some of it moves quickly. Our PDA for Parents & Carers course covers the fundamentals.

📅 Thursday 28th January 2027, 6.30-9pm (evening), online via Zoom.
📅 Friday 26th February 2027, 12.30-3pm (daytime), online via Zoom.
📖 £30, with a recording available for 14 days afterwards.

🔗 Places are limited - link here to book: https://training.pdasociety.org.uk/live-trainings/

21/10/2026

We’ve got three new live online courses that are now open for booking for 2027. Get your place quick if you can, as spaces are limited.

Once you know the basics of PDA (Pathological Demand Avoidance), the questions tend to get more specific.

What helps in the middle of a really hard moment? What changes as your child becomes a teenager? Why has school started to feel impossible?

These are the conversations that come up again and again, so we’ve built a course around each one. They’re live, they’re practical, and you’ll be learning alongside other people who understand.

🔹 Navigating distressed behaviours in PDA: Supporting your child and yourself
📅 Friday 15th January, 10am–12.30pm

🔹 Navigating PDA in the Teenage Years
📅 Thursday 28th January, 6.30–9pm (evening)
📅 Friday 26th February, 12.30–3pm

🔹 Navigating school-related anxiety in PDA
📅 Tuesday 16th March, 10am–12.30pm

We’ll be sharing more about each course very soon.

💷 All three are £30 and run live online.
🎥 You’ll get a recording to watch back for 14 days afterwards.
🔗 Book here: https://training.pdasociety.org.uk/live-trainings/

19/10/2026

Last week we told you that we needed your help, and we have been completely overwhelmed by the messages of support from the PDA community.

Thanks to you, we have already raised more than £40,000 - but we can’t afford to stop there.

Together, we need to raise at least £60,000 before the end October, or we may have to close the support services that thousands of PDAers and their families rely on.

Donate today through our website or the link in our bio: https://ow.ly/Ya6b50ZYSF0

17/10/2026

If you work with children in education, health or social care, this one’s for you.

Sometimes it’s not what you ask, it’s how you ask it. “It’s time for reading” lands as a demand. “When we’ve found your book, we’ll have time to enjoy it together” lands as an invitation. It’s a tiny tweak, and for a PDAer it can make all the difference.

It works in classrooms, clinics and family support settings too, which is what our live training for professionals on PDA (Pathological Demand Avoidance) is all about.

We’ll look at why rewards and sanctions can backfire, and what adjustments can look like day to day.

It's on Wednesday 18th November, 3.30–5.15pm, online via Zoom. CPD certified, with the recording available for 14 days afterwards.

Places are limited, so grab yours here: https://training.pdasociety.org.uk/product/working-with-supporting-pda-children-education-health-social-care-18th-november/

15/10/2026

We need to be completely honest with you. The PDA Society is facing a financial emergency.

Right now, someone from the PDA community is searching for answers, but soon our support services may not be here to help them.

We need your help to raise £60,000 before the end of October to save our PDA support services, and to make sure that we can keep showing up for PDAers and their families.

You can donate today through our website: https://www.pdasociety.org.uk/

14/10/2026

More on our Training Hub subscriptions, and what you get 👇

With a subscription, you get our self-paced PDA (Pathological Demand Avoidance) learning modules, podcasts, and recordings of our webinars and Q&As, all in one place. You can come back to them whenever, wherever.

We don't receive any funding for our training, which is why our subscriptions are paid. They cover their own costs, and anything left over helps keep our free information and guidance there for the people who need it.

A few things worth knowing:

🌱 Not ready to pay? Our free subscription is a good place to start, with an Introduction to PDA module and a selection of recordings.

💛 Parents and carers who subscribe for a year save £40 compared with monthly, and get £50 off a live training course.

📚 Professional subscribers get extra content made for education, healthcare and social care, including our new CPD education modules (worth £150 on their own) and a complimentary place at our conferences.

Buying for a team? We offer discounts on multiple licences.

Paid subscriptions can be cancelled any time.

Find the subscription that fits you: https://training.pdasociety.org.uk/subscriptions/

13/10/2026

The government’s independent review into mental health, ADHD and autism (published on Friday 9th October) echoes the problems we see every day and leads the way in calling for change.

The PDA Society wholeheartedly agrees that ‘understanding' is needed for the right support to be provided, and personalisation of services is essential. Change must include improved understanding of the needs of PDAers, including access to high quality diagnosis.

*Note that like all organisations, we’re reviewing the report in detail, are working with partners and will comment more in time.

Find out more on our website: https://ow.ly/sTEq50ZXgwb

05/10/2026

Our new course, Navigating PDA in the Teenage Years, sold out before we'd even shared it here. So we've added a second date, this time in the evening for anyone who can't make daytime sessions.

As PDA (Pathological Demand Avoidance) children grow into teenagers, a lot shifts: more independence, new expectations and less of you setting the terms of their day. The course looks at what that means for friendships, school and college, mental health and helping your teen speak up for what they need.

It builds on core PDA understanding rather than covering the basics, so it's best suited to parents and carers who already feel confident with what PDA is.

If you're newer to PDA, you're of course still welcome to join, you might just find some of it moves quickly. Alternatively, our PDA for Parents & Carers course (running 8th & 15th October) covers the fundamentals first, if you'd rather start there.

📅 Thursday 28th January 2027, 6.30pm – 9pm, online via zoom
💷 £30, recording available for 14 days after.
🔗 Places are limited - link here to book: https://training.pdasociety.org.uk/product/navigating-pda-in-the-teenage-years-28th-january/

Our November date went to our email newsletter first. To be the first to hear about new training, you can sign up on our website.

02/10/2026

It's so important to celebrate the little wins when life gets tough.

But at the same time, not every week has a silver lining, a hidden lesson, or a message of positivity. Naming it for what it is might be all we can do.

And when we're overwhelmed, protecting our time and our energy becomes even more important. Sometimes it's not avoidance. Sometimes it's just rest.

What did you opt out of this week? (You never know, you might be giving someone else permission to opt out too...)

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Address

PO Box 6080
Sheffield
S129EW

Website

http://linktr.ee/PDASociety

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